The present invention relates to a method for creating a knowledge map, and in particular, to a method in which such a knowledge map is organized according to an easily assimilated format which is simple to understand and to maintain, thereby maximizing the efficacy and management of knowledge.
The explosion of information available through the Internet, particularly through the Web, has increased the possibilities for searching for information through publicly available databases and electronic resources. Furthermore, many large organizations, such as corporations, maintain intranets, or internal networks, which connect the computers belonging to the organization. Such internal networks enable organizational users to search for information through databases and other electronic resources. Paradoxically, however, the growth of opportunities for information searching has not resulted in a concurrent increase in the ability to quickly and easily find the desired information.
The paradox arises because information which is available through databases and other electronic resources, or digitally-stored knowledge, can easily be retrieved only if the user specifically knows how to select the useful information, relying on knowledge of how the database was constructed, how the information is organized within the database, and ultimately how to phrase the query which reveals the desired information. Without such knowledge of the system according to which the information is stored, searches are difficult and frustrating for the user.
Search engines are a primary example of the difficulty of locating the desired information within the huge amount of available, but largely irrelevant, information. Search engines are often used to search for Web pages on the Internet, or within corporate intranets, for example by keyword or through xe2x80x9cnatural languagexe2x80x9d queries. However, users often find such search engines frustrating to operate, since even xe2x80x9cnatural languagexe2x80x9d queries which are incorrectly phrased produce irrelevant or useless information. Keyword-based searches are even more problematic, as they often produce irrelevant results. Thus, currently available search engines are not necessarily useful for locating information on the Internet or intranets.
In order to overcome difficulties associated with simple search engines, more complex solutions have been proposed to organize information in a more useful and accessible system. For example, data warehouses are an extension of classic database methodologies which are specialized for storing and processing large amounts of data. These data warehouses organize data collected from automated systems, thereby maintaining an organizational repository of such data. However, information is still difficult to obtain from data warehouses through searches, because the data warehouse itself is structured to store information and not to analyze and process the information.
Document management tools attempt to provide more data analysis and processing by providing a navigation interface for accessing digitally-stored knowledge stored as documents, since a document is a typical logical (rather than physical) information storage unit. These tools often incorporate a certain model of data workflow and organizational structures in order to help the user find the document(s) with the desired information, through knowledge mapping. Such mapping is at least partially achieved by users who notify the system of categorical information on a document and its content when documents are generated. Currently available document management tools provide an interface which is often difficult to understand and to assimilate, particularly for users who are less familiar with computers and with the traditional GUI (graphical user interface) format.
Indeed, a significant drawback of all of these knowledge management tools is that they require the user to adjust to the interface and to the method for present information, such that the user must operate an often counterintuitive, complex and unwieldy interface. The user may simply ignore the computer as a result, or at the very least fail to make full use of the resources available through the computer. Thus, the full power of currently available knowledge management systems may not be exploited by the user, simply because the interface is counterintuitive, and difficult to understand and use.
A good example of an intuitive, easily assimilated, simply-operated interface is a map, such as a road map. The map features a plurality of known symbols, representing, for example, gas stations, restaurants, hospitals, hotels and other resources which the traveler may require. These symbols are organized according to their physical location, relative to the location of roads, towns and other landmarks. The map may be further colored, for example to indicate a body of water or to show empty fields, thereby further orienting the traveler in physical space. Thus, unlike currently available GUI interfaces, the map is easier to understand and to use.
Therefore, there is an unmet need for, and it would be highly useful to have, a GUI interface which combines the ease of understanding a map with the power and sophistication of a knowledge management tool, such that even an inexperienced computer user can easily grasp the principles of the GUI interface and is thus able to effectively operate knowledge management applications.
The present invention is of a method for creating and displaying a knowledge map software interface which is easy for the user to understand and to operate. The map preferably includes a plurality of standard representative symbols, optionally with an additional label, which immediately indicate to the user the type of knowledge represented. Each such symbol is an icon which leads to a particular knowledge service when selected by the user, for example by xe2x80x9cclickingxe2x80x9d with a mouse or other pointer device. These symbols are arranged on the physical space of the map in a manner which indicates the relationship between the symbols, and hence the relationship between the different types of knowledge services represented.
Preferably, the physical space of the map is divided into different sections, each representing a particular division of the knowledge management system. For example, if the user is a member of a corporation, preferably the division of the physical space of the map includes a section for the overall corporate information, a section for the department to which the user belongs, and a section for personal organization by the user. More preferably an additional section of the map is provided for knowledge services which are outside the organization, yet which still may be useful to the user as a member of the organization, as a member of the department within the organization, or according to the professional role of the user, for example. Thus, both the symbols, or iconography, and the physical organization of the map aid the user to understand and to operate the knowledge management software interface.
More preferably, the knowledge management software interface includes a display substrate and iconography which features a stylized representation of a geographical map. A geographical map may include a portion which is colored blue, to represent water, or green, to represent an agricultural or park area, for example. In addition, such a geographical map may include lines which represent roads. The iconography associated with such a map is clearly understood by the user, who would immediately recognize a curved blue line as the icon symbolizing a river, for example. Thus, geographical iconography and a geographical substrate are particularly preferred for the knowledge management interface of the present invention.
According to the present invention, there is provided a method for displaying a knowledge map interface for organizing a plurality of knowledge services for a user, the steps of the method being performed by a data processor, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a knowledge map display substrate, the knowledge map display substrate being divided into a plurality of portions, each of the portions representing one of a plurality of knowledge categories; (b) providing a plurality of icons for being displayed on a knowledge map display substrate; (c) characterizing each of the plurality of knowledge services according to a knowledge category; (d) selecting an icon of the plurality of icons for representing each of the plurality of knowledge services; and (e) placing the icon on one of the plurality of portions of the knowledge map display substrate according to the knowledge category, such that when the user selects the icon, the knowledge service is accessed.
Hereinafter, the term xe2x80x9ccomputing platformxe2x80x9d refers to a particular computer hardware system or to a particular software operating system. Examples of such hardware systems include, but are not limited to, personal computers (PC), Macintosh(trademark) computers, mainframes, minicomputers and workstations. Examples of such software operating systems include, but are not limited to, UNIX, VMS, Linux, MacOS(trademark), DOS, one of the Windows(trademark) operating systems by Microsoft Inc. (Seattle, Wash., USA), including Windows NT(trademark), Windows 3.x(trademark) (in which xe2x80x9cxxe2x80x9d is a version number, such as xe2x80x9cWindows 3.1(trademark)xe2x80x9d), Windows95(trademark), Windows98(trademark) and Windows CE(trademark).
The present invention could be described as a series of steps implemented by a data processor, such that the present invention could be implemented as hardware, software or firmware, or a combination thereof. For the present invention, a software application could be written in substantially suitable programming language, which could easily be selected by one of ordinary skill in the art. The programming language chosen should be compatible with the computing platform according to which the software application is executed. Examples of suitable programming languages include, but are not limited to, C, C++ and Java.